Garden

[Allegheny]

On 4/14/2014 Luv2Decorate said:

We have a droopy pine like this one:

And we've had it for several years, it's now brown, except at the very bottom. I'm so bummed. It's such an unusual tree and I've enjoyed watching it grow and transform. I think it died because of our cold snowy looooooooooooooong winter.

Hi, if this is a current picture of your tree, it doesn't look dead, just a little stressed from weather perhaps.

[JustJazzmom]

On 4/14/2014 Allegheny said:

I am not sure exactly what type of fir/pine it is. It could be a fraser fir. I don't think the weather is the reason as it has been in ground for close to 20 years. There are so many dead/bare branches I do not think it will come back, but at least getting someone out to view it will tell me what happened. Thanks everyone I appreciate your kindness.

Even though I am pretty sure the landscaper's work didn't involve the tree, something in the back of my mind and the timing makes me feel something occurred during this job which may have disturbed the tree's root system.

Saw this while googling.

http://www.finegardening.com/plants/articles/spruce-fir-pine.aspx

[MalteseMomma]

Get a tree expert to look at it.It probably needs feeding. If there is new growth on top it is ok. I once thought mine was dying too but they fed it and lots of new growth began again for many more years.

I had one I planted myself when I first married.It grew so big over the years (50) that every year I thought NYC would ask for it for Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. It could be seen for miles around and spotted from the NJ turnpike

Sadly I had to cut it down after the Sandy storm because I couldn't chance it falling on my house or someone elses house.

It really hurt to cut it down. I still miss it and so does my bird community

[poshmini]

We have a blue spruce, now for ten years, last year it started getting that sparse look at the bottom, and a bit rusty looking in some spots, I called our local nursery, they said it is natural for the pines to go through this, however if it starts to continue throughout, it's probably got a disease. We use, from Lowe's, plant spikes for pine trees, every year, they do work, so please check them out, it's a fertilizer for them. You just pound them into the ground around the tree they go accordingly how many per height of the tree. Use a rubber mallot to pound them in. Best when the ground is wet to ease them in better. Our tree is about 10-11 feet high now, and still hanging in there. Do not give up. Also, don't put mulch all the way up to the trunk of the tree leave a foot or so away from the trunk of the tree, for it's health. Hope this will help. Good Luck!

[AnikaBrodie]

This winter has been very hard on trees, especially if you live in a northern climate. We have a beautiful blue atlas cedar tree (about 40 feet tall) whose branches are really brown instead of green. The garden center expert has told us it will come back. I so hope he's right. It's one of our favorite trees.

Perhaps your tree was affected by the winter too. Call your garden center for an evaluation.

We lost two large pine trees (over 40+ feet) from an ice/wind storm late last fall. The ice storm with lots of heavy wind broke many large branches and several of the branches landed on two cars in our neighbors driveway. They also damaged some of our other trees. Ouch ... so sad to see the trees cut down.

[smoky22]

Check to be sure they didn't pile the mulch right up to the trunk of the tree. Mulch should be kept away from the trunk and it shouldn't be piled any thicker than about 3 inches deep around the tree (or the roots can't breathe). I think having an expert look at it is good advice if you want to save it.

Oh, I just read that poshmini gave you the same advice. Sorry to be redundant.

[Allegheny]

Well the mulch was pretty deep and I removed a ton of it. You know it ticks me off that "a professional landscaper" would pile on the mulch so thickly. I can't say this is what affected the tree, but I have my suspicions. I have already pulled most of it away from the base. Tomorrow, I am going back and remove more from the shrubs that are beside the tree.

JustJazzMom, thanks for the link. That will enable me to define what I have.

I can snap a few photos and then have DH help me to load and post.

[JustJazzmom]

On 4/16/2014 Allegheny said:

Well the mulch was pretty deep and I removed a ton of it. You know it ticks me off that "a professional landscaper" would pile on the mulch so thickly. I can't say this is what affected the tree, but I have my suspicions. I have already pulled most of it away from the base. Tomorrow, I am going back and remove more from the shrubs that are beside the tree.

JustJazzMom, thanks for the link. That will enable me to define what I have.

I can snap a few photos and then have DH help me to load and post.

A true professional landscaper would not pile or 'volcano' the mulch around a tree trunk. At most 2-3" is sufficient. As someone said on another thread, leave at least 6" away of bare soil from the tree/mulch line. That natural tree 'flare' at the bottom should be visible. If its not, start removing mulch and soil and dig down till it is visible. All trees have a 'flare'. Unfortunately due to the balling and burlapping process at many nurseries where trees are grown to be sent out into the industry. The soil does tend to get piled over the natural flare when the tree is prepped for transport. Its up to YOU the buyer to see where that tree flare is and insist when the tree is planted that the flare is visible. A true professional landscaper will also check for the tree flare before planting.

If the tree trunk is buried in mulch at the ground level, it makes it difficult for the tree to breathe and pass O2 and receive CO2. The extreme mulch also keeps the wood warm and wet and it can cause the bark to break down (diseases can set in from opening in the bark as well as insects gaining access) or vermin (mice, chipmunks) can easily overwinter inside the mulch and then chew the tender soft bark for nourishment.

Try and get the natural mulch and not the dyed mulch. Even though the manufacturers say the dye is not harmful to the environment, why use it anyway?? The mulch is eventually going to fade in color anyway due to the oxidation process and the sun's rays.

One more thing-- if the shrubs are too close to the tree, either move them further away or trim them away to allow good air circulation among your tree and shrubs.

[kinda silly]

Hi Allegany, a segment about this very issue was on our local news here in NYS. A local nursery reported that due to the harsh winter, many evergreens are browning. He suggested that as soon as the last frost occurs, prune off the brown parts and hopefully you will will new shoots in their place. Good luck, I love my shrubs too.

[Nevadablue]

kinda silly I live inMissouri and got the same advice from our local nursery, I have 6 holly bushes which are well established 17 years old, they have crispy leaves looking like someone burnt them, hollys are year round green. My house is on the market oh no not this year called local nursery what should I do? he said no bugs or diseases are alive in winter 125% sure it was this worse winter in 27 years, do not take any harsh measures, trim off brown damaged branches and give them a month to slowly comeback after this winter so it sounds like everyone across the country is getting same advice, he did say trim the brown branches because they will never come back and if I was really concerned bring a branch in for them to examine.